Bringing a close to this year’s Tennessee Golf Association women’s competition calendar, Druid Hills Golf Club in Fairfield Glade will serve as the site for the final state championships awarded beginning Tuesday.

The Tennessee Women’s Senior, Super Senior, and Mid-Amateur Championship will seek to crown champions on Wednesday following 36 holes of competition after last year’s tournament was shortened to 18 holes due to rainy conditions in Johnson City.

Nashville’s Erica Chappell hopes to defend her Senior title won last year, and she will be joined by a trio of former champions in the 48^th playing of the Women’s Senior championship. Two-time winner Susan Miller of Loudon picked up titles in 2024 and 2018, while 2023 champion Leslie Letner of Crossville and 2022 winner Rhonda Switzer-Nadasdi of Nashville are among the participants.

Cleveland’s Maggie Scott holds the record for most titles won in this event by winning nine times over a 13-year stretch between 2001-13, later claiming a pair of Super Senior wins to add to her haul of 14 TGA titles over her illustrious career.

Janice Sauter of Franklin will return in defense of her Women’s Super Senior crown won last year. Gena Ridings of Franklin earned titles in 2024 and 2023 as the championship conducts its 7^th edition of the event.

In the 10^th playing of the Women’s Mid-Amateur championship, Jesse Lawley hopes to add to her previous titles won in 2020 and 2019 as the lone former champion in the field.

USGA Concludes 2026 Competitions Later this Week

The final pair of tournaments on the USGA calendar begin play on Saturday with Tennessee golfers among the participants.

The 45^th U.S. Mid-Amateur gets underway on Saturday at Sand Valley Resort in Nekoosa, Wis., with the first of two rounds of stroke play qualifying, while the 63^rd U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur follows suit at Portland Golf Club in Portland, Ore.

The four golfers from the Volunteer State who qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur includes former Chattanooga Moc Braedon Wear of Maryville, Jason Millard of Murfreesboro, Cody Johnson of Knoxville, and Steve McDonald of Signal Mountain.

Two other entrants with Tennessee ties exempt into the field were McMinnville native and former MTSU golfer Brett Patterson of Oxford, Miss., along with former Tennessee Vol Mike Sposa, recent winner of the U.S. Senior Amateur championship.

Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame member Sarah Ingram of Nashville is the lone Tennessee representative competing in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. The three-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion (1991, 1993, 1994) was also a member of three U.S. Curtis Cup teams and served twice as a victorious captain in 2021 and 2022.

Vanderbilt Alum Sherwood Bound for PGA Tour

The PGA Tour announced last Saturday that Cole Sherwood achieved TourBound status, officially securing one of the 20 PGA Tour cards for the 2027 season available via the Korn Ferry Tour with a made cut at last week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

The 24-year-old Sherwood earned his first Korn Ferry Tour title in May at the 2026 Colonial Life Charity Classic. Roughly one month later, Sherwood posted a runner-up finish at the 2026 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS. Since his win, the Vanderbilt alum has stood no lower than No. 6 on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

Sherwood, who plays from Austin, Texas, finished No. 7 in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking after four seasons at Vanderbilt (2020-24), where he earned three individual victories, as well as All-America honors in 2022 (First Team) and 2024 (Second Team).

Sherwood has two career starts on the PGA Tour to date, having made appearances at the 2024 John Deere Classic and 2024 Procore Championship. 

Three other Korn Ferry Tour members with Tennessee ties are also positioned to secure their PGA Tour cards for 2027 with two events remaining. Nashville resident Hunter Eichhorn is currently ranked 9^th, followed by Nashville’s Blades Brown in 14^th and Knoxville’s Davis Shore in 16^th.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com